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Showing posts with label Palestine. Show all posts

Hama's Military wing Says It Attackef Israel Capital Tel Aviv, warning sirens sounded

Hama's Military wing Says It Attackef Israel Capital Tel Aviv, warning sirens sounded

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Hamas military wing claims it launched ‘big missile’ attack on Tel Aviv.

 Earlier, the Qassam Brigades said its fighters “killed and captured” an unidentified number of Israeli soldiers in Jabalia camp. The Israeli military has denied the claim.



The Israeli military has sounded sirens in Tel Aviv in central Israel warning of possible incoming rockets.


The armed wing of Hamas, said in a statement on Telegram that its fighters bombarded the Israeli city with a missile barrage in what it said “in response to the Zionist massacres against civilians”.


Fifteen explosions were heard in the Tel Aviv area, according to local media

Hamas military wing claims it launched ‘big missile’ attack on Tel Aviv.

 Earlier, the Qassam Brigades said its fighters “killed and captured” an unidentified number of Israeli soldiers in Jabalia camp. The Israeli military has denied the claim.



The Israeli military has sounded sirens in Tel Aviv in central Israel warning of possible incoming rockets.


The armed wing of Hamas, said in a statement on Telegram that its fighters bombarded the Israeli city with a missile barrage in what it said “in response to the Zionist massacres against civilians”.


Fifteen explosions were heard in the Tel Aviv area, according to local media
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Spain's recognitions of Palestinian State, Israel to prevent Consulate to serve Hamas in Jerusalem — Minister

Spain's recognitions of Palestinian State, Israel to prevent Consulate to serve Hamas in Jerusalem — Minister

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Spain is among three European nations that just confirmed their decision to recognize the Palestinian State.


An Israeli Minister, Israel Katz in response said Spain's recognition of a Palestinian state and the antisemitic call by Spain's Deputy Prime Minister to not just recognize a Palestinian state but to 'liberate Palestine from the river to the sea,' I have decided to sever the connection between Spain's representation in Israel and the Palestinians, and to prohibit the Spanish consulate in Jerusalem from providing services to Palestinians from the West Bank.


He further said, " If this ignorant, hate-filled individual wants to understand what radical Islam truly seeks, she should study the 700 years of Islamic rule in Al-Andalus—today's Spain."

The leaders of Norway, Ireland and Spain have said their countries will formally recognise Palestine as a state next week for the sake of “peace in the Middle East“, prompting Israel to immediately recall its envoys.


Norway’s Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store said on Wednesday that a two-state solution was in Israel’s best interest and the recognition of Palestinian statehood would come as of May 28.


“There cannot be peace in the Middle East if there is no recognition,” he said in Oslo. 


Ireland’s prime minister Simon Harris made a similar announcement in Dublin, as did Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez in Madrid, to applause in parliament.


“In the midst of a war, with tens of thousands killed and injured [in Gaza], we must keep alive the only alternative that offers a political solution for Israelis and Palestinians alike: Two states, living side by side, in peace and security,” Gahr Store said.


“Recognition of Palestine is a means of supporting the moderate forces which have been losing ground in this protracted and brutal conflict,” he said.


Harris told a news conference: “I’m confident that further countries will join us in taking this important step in the coming weeks.”


Ireland’s foreign minister Micheal Martin said on X that the recognition will take place on May 28.


Sanchez, while announcing that Spain’s council of ministers would also recognise an independent Palestinian state on May 28, accused his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu of putting the two-state solution in “danger” with his policy of “pain and destruction” in Gaza.


“We hope that our recognition and our reasons contribute to other Western countries to follow this path, because the more we are, the more strength we will have to impose a ceasefire,” Sanchez said.


Harris also said that Ireland was unequivocal in recognising Israel’s right to exist “securely and in peace with its neighbours”, and called for all captives in Gaza to be immediately returned.


“But let me also be clear, Hamas is not the Palestinian people … a two-state solution is the only way out of the generational cycles of violence, retaliation and resentment,” he added.


At least 35,709 people have been killed and 79,990 wounded in Israeli attacks on Gaza since October 7. The death toll in Israel from Hamas’s October 7 attack is 1,139, with dozens still held captive.


It's perhaps unsurprising that Norway has taken the lead on this because they were behind the Oslo Accords – the agreement in 1993 that really did two things: it recognised the Palestine Liberation Organization, the PLO, as the legitimate representatives of the Palestinian people,” Khan added.

The timing of the move comes amid heightened international pressure on Israel. Just this week, the International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor Kharim Khan announced that he was seeking an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, among others, and the International Court of Justice (ICJ) hears on South Africa’s request for a ruling to stop the Israeli offensive in Rafah, southern Gaza.

Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Turkey welcomed the three leaders’ decision. France said now was not the right moment, but added that recognition was not “taboo”. Meanwhile, the White House acknowledged that each country can make its own decision on whether to recognise a Palestinian state, but stressed that US President Joe Biden thinks direct negotiations by the parties is the best approach.


If we take Jenin, for example, in the north of the occupied West Bank, it is suffering the repercussions of a second day of an Israeli raid.”


Israeli warning

Israel immediately announced it was recalling its envoys to Ireland and Norway for “urgent consultations”.


“Today, I am sending a sharp message to Ireland and Norway: Israel will not go over this in silence,” Foreign Minister Israel Katz said in a statement, adding that he planned to do the same with the Spanish ambassador.


The Israeli foreign ministry had earlier posted a video message addressed to Ireland on X warning that “recognising a Palestinian state risks turning you into a pawn in the hands of Iran and Hamas”, adding the move would “only fuel extremism and instability”.


Israel has said plans for Palestinian recognition constitute a “prize for terrorism” that would reduce the chances of a negotiated resolution to the war in Gaza, which began on October 7 when Hamas fighters stormed into southern Israel.


Hussein al-Sheikh, the secretary-general of the executive committee of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO), posted on X: “Historical moments in which the free world triumphs for truth and justice after long decades of Palestinian national struggle, suffering, pain, occupation, racism, murder, oppression, abuse and destruction to which the people of Palestine were subjected.”

Hamas called the decision by the three countries an “important step”.

Palestinian politician Mustafa Barghouti said it was a “powerful political and symbolically significant step” that moved the achievement of “freedom and justice” closer for the Palestinian people.

“This is also a blow to Netanyahu and his extreme government, and to the fascists in his government … It means the acts of fascism and extremism in the Israeli government has no future,” he said .


Source; Aljazeera news and social media

 




Spain is among three European nations that just confirmed their decision to recognize the Palestinian State.


An Israeli Minister, Israel Katz in response said Spain's recognition of a Palestinian state and the antisemitic call by Spain's Deputy Prime Minister to not just recognize a Palestinian state but to 'liberate Palestine from the river to the sea,' I have decided to sever the connection between Spain's representation in Israel and the Palestinians, and to prohibit the Spanish consulate in Jerusalem from providing services to Palestinians from the West Bank.


He further said, " If this ignorant, hate-filled individual wants to understand what radical Islam truly seeks, she should study the 700 years of Islamic rule in Al-Andalus—today's Spain."

The leaders of Norway, Ireland and Spain have said their countries will formally recognise Palestine as a state next week for the sake of “peace in the Middle East“, prompting Israel to immediately recall its envoys.


Norway’s Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store said on Wednesday that a two-state solution was in Israel’s best interest and the recognition of Palestinian statehood would come as of May 28.


“There cannot be peace in the Middle East if there is no recognition,” he said in Oslo. 


Ireland’s prime minister Simon Harris made a similar announcement in Dublin, as did Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez in Madrid, to applause in parliament.


“In the midst of a war, with tens of thousands killed and injured [in Gaza], we must keep alive the only alternative that offers a political solution for Israelis and Palestinians alike: Two states, living side by side, in peace and security,” Gahr Store said.


“Recognition of Palestine is a means of supporting the moderate forces which have been losing ground in this protracted and brutal conflict,” he said.


Harris told a news conference: “I’m confident that further countries will join us in taking this important step in the coming weeks.”


Ireland’s foreign minister Micheal Martin said on X that the recognition will take place on May 28.


Sanchez, while announcing that Spain’s council of ministers would also recognise an independent Palestinian state on May 28, accused his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu of putting the two-state solution in “danger” with his policy of “pain and destruction” in Gaza.


“We hope that our recognition and our reasons contribute to other Western countries to follow this path, because the more we are, the more strength we will have to impose a ceasefire,” Sanchez said.


Harris also said that Ireland was unequivocal in recognising Israel’s right to exist “securely and in peace with its neighbours”, and called for all captives in Gaza to be immediately returned.


“But let me also be clear, Hamas is not the Palestinian people … a two-state solution is the only way out of the generational cycles of violence, retaliation and resentment,” he added.


At least 35,709 people have been killed and 79,990 wounded in Israeli attacks on Gaza since October 7. The death toll in Israel from Hamas’s October 7 attack is 1,139, with dozens still held captive.


It's perhaps unsurprising that Norway has taken the lead on this because they were behind the Oslo Accords – the agreement in 1993 that really did two things: it recognised the Palestine Liberation Organization, the PLO, as the legitimate representatives of the Palestinian people,” Khan added.

The timing of the move comes amid heightened international pressure on Israel. Just this week, the International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor Kharim Khan announced that he was seeking an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, among others, and the International Court of Justice (ICJ) hears on South Africa’s request for a ruling to stop the Israeli offensive in Rafah, southern Gaza.

Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Turkey welcomed the three leaders’ decision. France said now was not the right moment, but added that recognition was not “taboo”. Meanwhile, the White House acknowledged that each country can make its own decision on whether to recognise a Palestinian state, but stressed that US President Joe Biden thinks direct negotiations by the parties is the best approach.


If we take Jenin, for example, in the north of the occupied West Bank, it is suffering the repercussions of a second day of an Israeli raid.”


Israeli warning

Israel immediately announced it was recalling its envoys to Ireland and Norway for “urgent consultations”.


“Today, I am sending a sharp message to Ireland and Norway: Israel will not go over this in silence,” Foreign Minister Israel Katz said in a statement, adding that he planned to do the same with the Spanish ambassador.


The Israeli foreign ministry had earlier posted a video message addressed to Ireland on X warning that “recognising a Palestinian state risks turning you into a pawn in the hands of Iran and Hamas”, adding the move would “only fuel extremism and instability”.


Israel has said plans for Palestinian recognition constitute a “prize for terrorism” that would reduce the chances of a negotiated resolution to the war in Gaza, which began on October 7 when Hamas fighters stormed into southern Israel.


Hussein al-Sheikh, the secretary-general of the executive committee of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO), posted on X: “Historical moments in which the free world triumphs for truth and justice after long decades of Palestinian national struggle, suffering, pain, occupation, racism, murder, oppression, abuse and destruction to which the people of Palestine were subjected.”

Hamas called the decision by the three countries an “important step”.

Palestinian politician Mustafa Barghouti said it was a “powerful political and symbolically significant step” that moved the achievement of “freedom and justice” closer for the Palestinian people.

“This is also a blow to Netanyahu and his extreme government, and to the fascists in his government … It means the acts of fascism and extremism in the Israeli government has no future,” he said .


Source; Aljazeera news and social media

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How Ted Cruz Grilled US Sec Blinken Over Israel War, Hamas Funding, Iran's President Dead (Video

How Ted Cruz Grilled US Sec Blinken Over Israel War, Hamas Funding, Iran's President Dead (Video

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ICC Threat: Israel will never accept any attempt to undermine its inherent right of self-defense Under my leadership — PM Netanyahu

ICC Threat: Israel will never accept any attempt to undermine its inherent right of self-defense Under my leadership — PM Netanyahu

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War In Gaza; Mass chaos at college campuses across US as pro-Palestine protests intensify

War In Gaza; Mass chaos at college campuses across US as pro-Palestine protests intensify

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According to a BBC report Police have arrested hundreds more protesters in locations across the US, as protests against the war in Gaza intensify across university campuses.


Some 108 arrests were made at Emerson College, Boston police told the BBC's US partner CBS News.


Earlier, 93 people at the University of Southern California (USC) in Los Angeles were taken into custody on trespassing charges.


Universities across the US have seen a growing number of students walk out of class or try to set up encampments to protest against Israel's military campaign in Gaza.


The latest arrests follow others at Columbia, Yale and New York University.


The arrests at USC were made as students gathered in Alumni Park - where the university's main-stage graduation ceremony is scheduled to take place next month.


Police officers in riot gear cleared a pro-Palestinian encampment at the centre of the campus, preventing demonstrators from gathering.


Students received a 10-minute warning from police helicopters to disperse. Those who refused, were arrested on trespassing charges.


The protest was reported to have been largely peaceful at first, but then turned tense with the continued police presence.


As police tried to detain one woman, protesters threw water bottles at them and chanted, "Let her go!"


Protesters gathered around the officers, drowning out their warnings with "free Palestine" chants. Students, some wearing kaffiyehs were holding "liberated zone" signs, banging drums.


Elsewhere in the country, Boston police told CBS that three officers had been injured in the action in that city - one of them seriously, though their condition was not life-threatening. No protesters were hurt, police added.


Students are said to have been camping out since Sunday, allegedly ignoring warnings to leave.


Emerson College has not yet commented on the arrests. In a previous statement, it said it supported the right to peaceful protests - while urging activists to comply with the law.



Earlier, there were chaotic scenes on the campus of the University of Texas in Austin as hundreds of local and state police on horseback, holding batons, dispersed protesters.


 

 



According to a BBC report Police have arrested hundreds more protesters in locations across the US, as protests against the war in Gaza intensify across university campuses.


Some 108 arrests were made at Emerson College, Boston police told the BBC's US partner CBS News.


Earlier, 93 people at the University of Southern California (USC) in Los Angeles were taken into custody on trespassing charges.


Universities across the US have seen a growing number of students walk out of class or try to set up encampments to protest against Israel's military campaign in Gaza.


The latest arrests follow others at Columbia, Yale and New York University.


The arrests at USC were made as students gathered in Alumni Park - where the university's main-stage graduation ceremony is scheduled to take place next month.


Police officers in riot gear cleared a pro-Palestinian encampment at the centre of the campus, preventing demonstrators from gathering.


Students received a 10-minute warning from police helicopters to disperse. Those who refused, were arrested on trespassing charges.


The protest was reported to have been largely peaceful at first, but then turned tense with the continued police presence.


As police tried to detain one woman, protesters threw water bottles at them and chanted, "Let her go!"


Protesters gathered around the officers, drowning out their warnings with "free Palestine" chants. Students, some wearing kaffiyehs were holding "liberated zone" signs, banging drums.


Elsewhere in the country, Boston police told CBS that three officers had been injured in the action in that city - one of them seriously, though their condition was not life-threatening. No protesters were hurt, police added.


Students are said to have been camping out since Sunday, allegedly ignoring warnings to leave.


Emerson College has not yet commented on the arrests. In a previous statement, it said it supported the right to peaceful protests - while urging activists to comply with the law.



Earlier, there were chaotic scenes on the campus of the University of Texas in Austin as hundreds of local and state police on horseback, holding batons, dispersed protesters.


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WAR MUST CONTINUE IN GAZA, UKRAINE: US House of Reps Approved Critical War support for Israel, Ukraine

WAR MUST CONTINUE IN GAZA, UKRAINE: US House of Reps Approved Critical War support for Israel, Ukraine

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 Russia: NO GOING BACK ON SPECIAL MILITARY OPERATIONS

Photo by AP

The United States' Congress officially passes bill to send $61 billion to Ukraine and $26 billion to Israel to keep the ongoing war steady in Ukraine and Gaza.


 Russia: NO GOING BACK ON SPECIAL MILITARY OPERATIONS

Photo by AP

The United States' Congress officially passes bill to send $61 billion to Ukraine and $26 billion to Israel to keep the ongoing war steady in Ukraine and Gaza.


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UN Chief: "I call on Israel, as the occupying Power, to protect the Palestinian population of the occupied West Bank

UN Chief: "I call on Israel, as the occupying Power, to protect the Palestinian population of the occupied West Bank

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On Iran , Israel confrontation:


 


 

On Iran , Israel confrontation:


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3 hours deadline for Gazans to evacuate Southward as Netanyahu Visits Israeli Troops Near Gaza, Fighting Escalates

3 hours deadline for Gazans to evacuate Southward as Netanyahu Visits Israeli Troops Near Gaza, Fighting Escalates

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Israeli Authority has given Gazans 3-hour deadline to evacuate southward, report claims



Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu visited frontline soldiers near the Gaza border. Israel continues to deploy tanks and heavy artillery around Gaza in preparation for a ground offensive. Israeli continues airstrikes on Gaza for 9th consecutive day. 


Israel forces said Hamas is preventing Palestinians from leaving Gaza.


Large Explosions were seen on Gaza’s skyline as Israel continues airstrikes for 9th consecutive day.

 Thousands of Gazans left homeless by Israeli bombardment as Egypt sends aid to Gaza to support Palestinians.




Israeli Authority has given Gazans 3-hour deadline to evacuate southward, report claims



Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu visited frontline soldiers near the Gaza border. Israel continues to deploy tanks and heavy artillery around Gaza in preparation for a ground offensive. Israeli continues airstrikes on Gaza for 9th consecutive day. 


Israel forces said Hamas is preventing Palestinians from leaving Gaza.


Large Explosions were seen on Gaza’s skyline as Israel continues airstrikes for 9th consecutive day.

 Thousands of Gazans left homeless by Israeli bombardment as Egypt sends aid to Gaza to support Palestinians.




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"Israel is at war" — Israel PM Netanyahu vows vengeance against Hamas will ‘reverberate' for generation

"Israel is at war" — Israel PM Netanyahu vows vengeance against Hamas will ‘reverberate' for generation

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More than 1000 targets in Gaza  destroyed already 






Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed that a reverberate vengeance against Hamas as Israeli forces hit more than 1000 targets in Gaza.


We didn’t want this war.

It was forced upon us in the most brutal and savage way.


But though Israel didn’t start this war, Israel will finish it."


"Hamas will understand that by attacking us, they have made a mistake of historic proportions. We will exact a price that will be remembered by them and Israel’s other enemies for decades to come." Benjamin Netanyahu said.


Israel's retaliatory strikes on Gaza continued on early Monday. Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel killing around 700 over the weekend. Dozens of Israelis have also been abducted as Hamas continued its attacks in Israeli town.




More than 1000 targets in Gaza  destroyed already 






Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed that a reverberate vengeance against Hamas as Israeli forces hit more than 1000 targets in Gaza.


We didn’t want this war.

It was forced upon us in the most brutal and savage way.


But though Israel didn’t start this war, Israel will finish it."


"Hamas will understand that by attacking us, they have made a mistake of historic proportions. We will exact a price that will be remembered by them and Israel’s other enemies for decades to come." Benjamin Netanyahu said.


Israel's retaliatory strikes on Gaza continued on early Monday. Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel killing around 700 over the weekend. Dozens of Israelis have also been abducted as Hamas continued its attacks in Israeli town.




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World Leaders Congratulate Bennett; Who’s Who in Israel’s New Gov't?

World Leaders Congratulate Bennett; Who’s Who in Israel’s New Gov't?

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World Israel News



World leaders called and tweeted their their congratulations to Prime Minister Naftali Bennett in the hours following the swearing in of his new government on Sunday.


The first call was from U.S. President Joe Biden, who reaffirmed his country’s solid friendship and commitment to Israel’s security, followed closely by Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz, who took to Twitter to reaffirm his nation’s commitment to “stand by Israel’s side.”


British Prime Minister Boris Johnson also used the social media platform to offer his congratulations.


“As we emerge from COVID-19, this is an exciting time for the UK and Israel to continue working together to advance peace and prosperity for all,” he tweeted.


 

UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab specified the goal of “continued cooperation on security, trade and climate change, and working together to secure peace in the region” in his own congratulatory message.


Germany’s top two officials, Chancellor Angela Merkel and Foreign Affairs Minister Heiko Maas, both mentioned their eagerness to work closely with their new Israeli counterparts in their messages. Maas even threw in the traditional Jewish congratulations, tweeting, “Mazel tov! Germany will always be by Israel’s side.”


Indian Prime Minister Narenda Modi, who established a close rapport with former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu that led to an exponential leap in trade and friendship between the two countries, went one better. He tweeted his congratulations to Bennett entirely in Hebrew, saying, “In anticipation of marking 30 years since the upgrading of our diplomatic relations next year, I look forward to meeting with you and deepening the strategic relationship between our two countries.”


כבוד ראש הממשלה,

ברכותי לכבוד קבלת תפקידך החדש כראש ממשלת ישראל. לקראת ציון 30 שנה לשדרוג היחסים הדיפלומטים בשנה הבאה, אני מצפה להיפגש איתך ולהעמקת היחסים האסטרטגיים

בין המדינות שלנו.@naftalibennett @IsraeliPM


— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) June 14, 2021


UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab specified the goal of “continued cooperation on security, trade and climate change, and working together to secure peace in the region” in his own congratulatory message.

Germany’s top two officials, Chancellor Angela Merkel and Foreign Affairs Minister Heiko Maas, both mentioned their eagerness to work closely with their new Israeli counterparts in their messages. Maas even threw in the traditional Jewish congratulations, tweeting, “Mazel tov! Germany will always be by Israel’s side.”

Indian Prime Minister Narenda Modi, who established a close rapport with former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu that led to an exponential leap in trade and friendship between the two countries, went one better. He tweeted his congratulations to Bennett entirely in Hebrew, saying, “In anticipation of marking 30 years since the upgrading of our diplomatic relations next year, I look forward to meeting with you and deepening the strategic relationship between our two countries.”


 The new government of Israel sweeps a lot of new and younger faces into the cabinet. While critics don’t expect the coalition and its one-seat Knesset majority to last, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett says his government will have staying power.


Here’s a who’s who of the key players who will be in the news in the coming days and weeks.


Prime Minister: Naftali Bennett: Leader of the right-wing religious-Zionist Yemina party. The son of American immigrants, the 49-year-old Bennett made his fortune as a software entrepreneur before entering politics in 2006.


His early political career includes a two-year stint as Benjamin Netanyahu’s chief of staff and another two years as director-general of the Yesha Council, an umbrella organization of the Israeli settlers movement. In more recent years, he has held the defense, education and diaspora affairs portfolios, among others.


He is the 13th and current prime minister of Israel since 13 June 2021. He served as minister of Diaspora Affairs from 2013 to 2019, as minister of education from 2015 to 2019 and as minister of Defense from 2019 to 2020.

Bennett and his wife, Gilat, live in Ra’anana with their four children.

Alternate Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Yair Lapid: Leader of the secular, centrist Yesh Atid party. Prior to entering politics, Lapid was a prominent news anchor and columnist. He is widely credited with being the driving force behind the formation of the Change bloc. Lapid served as finance minister for nearly two years and then as the Knesset’s opposition leade


Under the terms of the rotation agreement, Lapid and Bennett will switch posts in two year


He has clashed with the Haredi community over issues such as Sabbath commerce and army deferments for yeshiva student


Lapid lives in Tel Aviv with his wife, Lihi and their two children. Lapid has another son from a previous marriag


Defense Minister Benny Gantz: Leader of the secular, centrist Blue and White party. Gantz served as IDF chief of staff before entering politics. Gantz allied himself with Lapid for the March 2020 election campaign. After the election resulted in political stalemate, Gantz broke with Lapid to join Benjamin Netanyahu in a national unity government to fight the Covid pandemic.


The unity government included a rotation agreement that would have seen Gantz becoming prime minister in November, 2021. But Gantz’s popularity fell after Netanyahu broke the deal.


Finance Minister Avigdor Liberman: Leader of the secular, right-wing Israel Beiteinu party. Liberman was born in Moldova and came to Israel with his parents. Liberman became active in politics, rising to director-general of the Likud party in the ’90s, and then director-general of the prime minister’s office After a falling out with Netanyahu, Liberman formed the National Union, and then the Israel Beiteinu parties. Secular Russian immigrants make up the bulk of his political base.


In previous governments, Liberman has held a number of cabinet portfolios, most notably defense and foreign affairs.


Justice Minister Gideon Sa’ar: Leader of the secular, right-wing New Hope party. Like Bennett and Liberman, Sa’ar rose to Likud’s highest echelons before falling out with Netanyahu and leaving the party. He has held the interior and education portfolios in previous governments.


Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked: Number two person in Yemina. Shaked was a prominent Likud activist who quit the party to join forces with Naftali Bennett. Shaked previously served as Justice Minister.


Transportation Minister Merav Michaeli: Leader of the secular, left-wing Labor party. A former news anchor and columnist, Michaeli first went into politics in 2012.


Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz: Leader of the secular, left-wing Meretz party. A former journalist and commentator, Horowitz entered politics in 2009.


Knesset Member Mansour Abbas: Leader of the Islamist Arab Ra’am party. Abbas will hold no cabinet position, but his party’s four seats will make him a pivotal figure. A dentist by training, he first entered the Knesset in 2019 as a member of the United Arab List, a faction of the Joint List. Abbas broke with the Joint List. Ra’am is the first Arab party to join an Israeli governing coalition.


Speaker of the Knesset Mickey Levy: Member of Yesh Atid. A former police officer and of Kurdish descent, Levy formerly served as Deputy Minister of Finance.


Opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu: Leader of the Likud party. As head of the largest party not in the governing coalition, Netanyahu will serve as opposition leader. The former prime minister says he will work to topple the Change bloc government.


Netanyahu served as prime minister for 12 years, and also for a three-year stint in the 90s. He is currently standing trial on charges of corruption. Netanyahu maintains he is innocent.

World Israel News



World leaders called and tweeted their their congratulations to Prime Minister Naftali Bennett in the hours following the swearing in of his new government on Sunday.


The first call was from U.S. President Joe Biden, who reaffirmed his country’s solid friendship and commitment to Israel’s security, followed closely by Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz, who took to Twitter to reaffirm his nation’s commitment to “stand by Israel’s side.”


British Prime Minister Boris Johnson also used the social media platform to offer his congratulations.


“As we emerge from COVID-19, this is an exciting time for the UK and Israel to continue working together to advance peace and prosperity for all,” he tweeted.


 

UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab specified the goal of “continued cooperation on security, trade and climate change, and working together to secure peace in the region” in his own congratulatory message.


Germany’s top two officials, Chancellor Angela Merkel and Foreign Affairs Minister Heiko Maas, both mentioned their eagerness to work closely with their new Israeli counterparts in their messages. Maas even threw in the traditional Jewish congratulations, tweeting, “Mazel tov! Germany will always be by Israel’s side.”


Indian Prime Minister Narenda Modi, who established a close rapport with former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu that led to an exponential leap in trade and friendship between the two countries, went one better. He tweeted his congratulations to Bennett entirely in Hebrew, saying, “In anticipation of marking 30 years since the upgrading of our diplomatic relations next year, I look forward to meeting with you and deepening the strategic relationship between our two countries.”


כבוד ראש הממשלה,

ברכותי לכבוד קבלת תפקידך החדש כראש ממשלת ישראל. לקראת ציון 30 שנה לשדרוג היחסים הדיפלומטים בשנה הבאה, אני מצפה להיפגש איתך ולהעמקת היחסים האסטרטגיים

בין המדינות שלנו.@naftalibennett @IsraeliPM


— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) June 14, 2021


UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab specified the goal of “continued cooperation on security, trade and climate change, and working together to secure peace in the region” in his own congratulatory message.

Germany’s top two officials, Chancellor Angela Merkel and Foreign Affairs Minister Heiko Maas, both mentioned their eagerness to work closely with their new Israeli counterparts in their messages. Maas even threw in the traditional Jewish congratulations, tweeting, “Mazel tov! Germany will always be by Israel’s side.”

Indian Prime Minister Narenda Modi, who established a close rapport with former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu that led to an exponential leap in trade and friendship between the two countries, went one better. He tweeted his congratulations to Bennett entirely in Hebrew, saying, “In anticipation of marking 30 years since the upgrading of our diplomatic relations next year, I look forward to meeting with you and deepening the strategic relationship between our two countries.”


 The new government of Israel sweeps a lot of new and younger faces into the cabinet. While critics don’t expect the coalition and its one-seat Knesset majority to last, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett says his government will have staying power.


Here’s a who’s who of the key players who will be in the news in the coming days and weeks.


Prime Minister: Naftali Bennett: Leader of the right-wing religious-Zionist Yemina party. The son of American immigrants, the 49-year-old Bennett made his fortune as a software entrepreneur before entering politics in 2006.


His early political career includes a two-year stint as Benjamin Netanyahu’s chief of staff and another two years as director-general of the Yesha Council, an umbrella organization of the Israeli settlers movement. In more recent years, he has held the defense, education and diaspora affairs portfolios, among others.


He is the 13th and current prime minister of Israel since 13 June 2021. He served as minister of Diaspora Affairs from 2013 to 2019, as minister of education from 2015 to 2019 and as minister of Defense from 2019 to 2020.

Bennett and his wife, Gilat, live in Ra’anana with their four children.

Alternate Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Yair Lapid: Leader of the secular, centrist Yesh Atid party. Prior to entering politics, Lapid was a prominent news anchor and columnist. He is widely credited with being the driving force behind the formation of the Change bloc. Lapid served as finance minister for nearly two years and then as the Knesset’s opposition leade


Under the terms of the rotation agreement, Lapid and Bennett will switch posts in two year


He has clashed with the Haredi community over issues such as Sabbath commerce and army deferments for yeshiva student


Lapid lives in Tel Aviv with his wife, Lihi and their two children. Lapid has another son from a previous marriag


Defense Minister Benny Gantz: Leader of the secular, centrist Blue and White party. Gantz served as IDF chief of staff before entering politics. Gantz allied himself with Lapid for the March 2020 election campaign. After the election resulted in political stalemate, Gantz broke with Lapid to join Benjamin Netanyahu in a national unity government to fight the Covid pandemic.


The unity government included a rotation agreement that would have seen Gantz becoming prime minister in November, 2021. But Gantz’s popularity fell after Netanyahu broke the deal.


Finance Minister Avigdor Liberman: Leader of the secular, right-wing Israel Beiteinu party. Liberman was born in Moldova and came to Israel with his parents. Liberman became active in politics, rising to director-general of the Likud party in the ’90s, and then director-general of the prime minister’s office After a falling out with Netanyahu, Liberman formed the National Union, and then the Israel Beiteinu parties. Secular Russian immigrants make up the bulk of his political base.


In previous governments, Liberman has held a number of cabinet portfolios, most notably defense and foreign affairs.


Justice Minister Gideon Sa’ar: Leader of the secular, right-wing New Hope party. Like Bennett and Liberman, Sa’ar rose to Likud’s highest echelons before falling out with Netanyahu and leaving the party. He has held the interior and education portfolios in previous governments.


Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked: Number two person in Yemina. Shaked was a prominent Likud activist who quit the party to join forces with Naftali Bennett. Shaked previously served as Justice Minister.


Transportation Minister Merav Michaeli: Leader of the secular, left-wing Labor party. A former news anchor and columnist, Michaeli first went into politics in 2012.


Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz: Leader of the secular, left-wing Meretz party. A former journalist and commentator, Horowitz entered politics in 2009.


Knesset Member Mansour Abbas: Leader of the Islamist Arab Ra’am party. Abbas will hold no cabinet position, but his party’s four seats will make him a pivotal figure. A dentist by training, he first entered the Knesset in 2019 as a member of the United Arab List, a faction of the Joint List. Abbas broke with the Joint List. Ra’am is the first Arab party to join an Israeli governing coalition.


Speaker of the Knesset Mickey Levy: Member of Yesh Atid. A former police officer and of Kurdish descent, Levy formerly served as Deputy Minister of Finance.


Opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu: Leader of the Likud party. As head of the largest party not in the governing coalition, Netanyahu will serve as opposition leader. The former prime minister says he will work to topple the Change bloc government.


Netanyahu served as prime minister for 12 years, and also for a three-year stint in the 90s. He is currently standing trial on charges of corruption. Netanyahu maintains he is innocent.

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Israeli Netanyahu blasts coalition, fights to survive, seeks defectors to block new gov’t

Israeli Netanyahu blasts coalition, fights to survive, seeks defectors to block new gov’t

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By Paul Shindman, World Israel News



With an estimated 10 days left before coalition government could sweep him out of power for the first time in 12 years, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his allies attacked Yemina Party leader Naftali Bennett Thurdsay in an attempt to break apart the bizarre coalition of right, left and Arab parties before it can take office.

“All right-wing Knesset members must oppose this dangerous left-wing government,” Netanyahu tweeted.

On Friday, supporters of Netanyahu’s Likud party protested outside Bennett’s home in Ra’anana, angry with his decision to go back on a pre-election promise to never sit in a government with the center-left Yesh Atid party led by Yair Lapid. Netanyahu and top Likud officials are trying to get Yemina members Nir Orbach and Idit Silman to drop their support, Kan News reported.

On social media, the Likud party posted a loop of a nine-second video of Bennett, who is on track to replace Netanyahu as prime minister, promising that he would never serve in a Lapid government.

“I promise you that in any situation I will not sit (with) and will not give my hand that Yair Lapid will be the prime minister of Israel,” Bennett said at the time.

However, Bennett on Thursday explained in a Channel 10 interview that his top priority was preventing Israel from going to a fifth straight election. In return, Lapid also compromised and will allow Bennett, whose Yemina party has only seven seats compared to Lapid’s 17 in the 120-seat Knesset, lead the country first.

The eight-party coalition will see Lapid and Bennett split the leadership duties with Bennett being prime minister for the next two years before handing the position over to Lapid.

Bennett held a private meeting of the seven Knesset members in his caucus, working to convince legislator Orbach to support the formation of the unprecedented coalition that will see right, center and left-wing parties get the support of the Islamist United Arab List (Ra’am) party to give it the required majority in the 120-Knesset, Israel’s parliament.

Orbach withdrew his critical vote to support changing the Knesset speaker, that would allow the incoming coalition to control the agenda leading up to a vote of confidence in the new government expected on June 13.

Orbach said publicly “I know who Abbas is, I do not want to sit with him in one government,” and announced that if he decided not be part of the coalition he would resign his seat for someone else in the party. He later recanted after a massive social media campaign by the right-wing demanding he stay true to his convictions and remain in the party, Kan News reported.

Going in to the meeting at Bennett’s house, Orbach would only say that “meetings with the faction are always successful, it will be good.”

Lapid and Bennett want to replace Knesset Speaker Yariv Levin of Likud who is close to Netanyahu with somebody from their coalition, but lacking Orbach’s critical vote Levin remains in charge of the House. Levin demanded the two submit their coalition agreement to him as speaker of the house, which would also give Likud and other opponents a chance to publicly exploit any written agreements for concessions to Arab or left-wing parties that could thwart an expected vote in the Knesset later this month.

“The agreements should be submitted to the Knesset Secretariat immediately upon their signing,” said Levin said. Coalition members fear that Levin do as much as possible to postpone the plenary session in which the new government will be sworn in – thus allowing the continued public pressure Bennett’s party as well as the right-wing New Hope party led by Gideon Saar, who earlier this year bolted Likud in a bid to oust Netanyahu.

The Likud is also trying to convince New Hope members Ze’ev Elkin and Sharren Haskel, both former Likud members who sided with Elkin, to defect back to their home party.

A surprise angle that opponents to Lapid and Bennett might take the Arab angle, hoping that both opponents and followers of Ra’am leader Mansour Abbas may object to any concessions he may have made in supporting a majority Jewish government.

Ra’am, a conservative religious Islamist party, is vehemently opposed to the gay rights agenda of the left-wing Meretz party, which is also in the coalition. Although the coalition agreement reportedly leaves LGBT issues off the government’s legislative agenda to ensure Ra’am support, Meretz leader Nizan Horowitz said his party had to stick its core goal of promoting LGBT issues.

Abbas has faced intensive pressure from within his own party for appearing to compromise with the Zionists, and there are still fears that if they are not careful on these issues in the coming days, any other three Ra’am Knesset members may oppose the formation of the government.
By Paul Shindman, World Israel News



With an estimated 10 days left before coalition government could sweep him out of power for the first time in 12 years, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his allies attacked Yemina Party leader Naftali Bennett Thurdsay in an attempt to break apart the bizarre coalition of right, left and Arab parties before it can take office.

“All right-wing Knesset members must oppose this dangerous left-wing government,” Netanyahu tweeted.

On Friday, supporters of Netanyahu’s Likud party protested outside Bennett’s home in Ra’anana, angry with his decision to go back on a pre-election promise to never sit in a government with the center-left Yesh Atid party led by Yair Lapid. Netanyahu and top Likud officials are trying to get Yemina members Nir Orbach and Idit Silman to drop their support, Kan News reported.

On social media, the Likud party posted a loop of a nine-second video of Bennett, who is on track to replace Netanyahu as prime minister, promising that he would never serve in a Lapid government.

“I promise you that in any situation I will not sit (with) and will not give my hand that Yair Lapid will be the prime minister of Israel,” Bennett said at the time.

However, Bennett on Thursday explained in a Channel 10 interview that his top priority was preventing Israel from going to a fifth straight election. In return, Lapid also compromised and will allow Bennett, whose Yemina party has only seven seats compared to Lapid’s 17 in the 120-seat Knesset, lead the country first.

The eight-party coalition will see Lapid and Bennett split the leadership duties with Bennett being prime minister for the next two years before handing the position over to Lapid.

Bennett held a private meeting of the seven Knesset members in his caucus, working to convince legislator Orbach to support the formation of the unprecedented coalition that will see right, center and left-wing parties get the support of the Islamist United Arab List (Ra’am) party to give it the required majority in the 120-Knesset, Israel’s parliament.

Orbach withdrew his critical vote to support changing the Knesset speaker, that would allow the incoming coalition to control the agenda leading up to a vote of confidence in the new government expected on June 13.

Orbach said publicly “I know who Abbas is, I do not want to sit with him in one government,” and announced that if he decided not be part of the coalition he would resign his seat for someone else in the party. He later recanted after a massive social media campaign by the right-wing demanding he stay true to his convictions and remain in the party, Kan News reported.

Going in to the meeting at Bennett’s house, Orbach would only say that “meetings with the faction are always successful, it will be good.”

Lapid and Bennett want to replace Knesset Speaker Yariv Levin of Likud who is close to Netanyahu with somebody from their coalition, but lacking Orbach’s critical vote Levin remains in charge of the House. Levin demanded the two submit their coalition agreement to him as speaker of the house, which would also give Likud and other opponents a chance to publicly exploit any written agreements for concessions to Arab or left-wing parties that could thwart an expected vote in the Knesset later this month.

“The agreements should be submitted to the Knesset Secretariat immediately upon their signing,” said Levin said. Coalition members fear that Levin do as much as possible to postpone the plenary session in which the new government will be sworn in – thus allowing the continued public pressure Bennett’s party as well as the right-wing New Hope party led by Gideon Saar, who earlier this year bolted Likud in a bid to oust Netanyahu.

The Likud is also trying to convince New Hope members Ze’ev Elkin and Sharren Haskel, both former Likud members who sided with Elkin, to defect back to their home party.

A surprise angle that opponents to Lapid and Bennett might take the Arab angle, hoping that both opponents and followers of Ra’am leader Mansour Abbas may object to any concessions he may have made in supporting a majority Jewish government.

Ra’am, a conservative religious Islamist party, is vehemently opposed to the gay rights agenda of the left-wing Meretz party, which is also in the coalition. Although the coalition agreement reportedly leaves LGBT issues off the government’s legislative agenda to ensure Ra’am support, Meretz leader Nizan Horowitz said his party had to stick its core goal of promoting LGBT issues.

Abbas has faced intensive pressure from within his own party for appearing to compromise with the Zionists, and there are still fears that if they are not careful on these issues in the coming days, any other three Ra’am Knesset members may oppose the formation of the government.
Tags:

ACIS-M STANDS WITH THE PALESTINE AS CUBA RE-AFFIRMS HER SOLIDARITY!

ACIS-M STANDS WITH THE PALESTINE AS CUBA RE-AFFIRMS HER SOLIDARITY!

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Tags:

All in the Mideast: IDF Destroys Tower Hosting Hamas, Al-Jazeera and AP; Violent Arab Riots in Judea, Samaria; IDF Pounds Hamas Commander’s Home; Rocket Kills Israeli Man

All in the Mideast: IDF Destroys Tower Hosting Hamas, Al-Jazeera and AP; Violent Arab Riots in Judea, Samaria; IDF Pounds Hamas Commander’s Home; Rocket Kills Israeli Man

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More than 2000 Rockets Fired into Israel by Hamas



The fighter jets of Israeli Defense Forces razed on Saturday afternoon a high-rise building in the Gaza Strip hosting the Hamas military intelligence units.

According to reports by 24news and many other sources, the Jala Tower complex in the Gaza Strip is also where the Gaza offices of several international news media outlets are based, including the Associated Press and al-Jazeera.

Reports suggested that the tower’s owner had received a warning from the IDF ahead of the airstrikes, allowing the civilians inside to evacuate.

The Israeli military accused the terrorist groups of using the journalists working in the building as human shields.


“The terrorist organization Hamas deliberately places its military assets in the heart of the civilian population in the Gaza Strip,” the army said.


In a statement issued shortly after the attack, Hamas threatened another major rocket salvo into central Israel in retaliation for the strike.


Red alert sirens went off earlier in the day in the area, with one Israeli killed in the Saturday afternoon barrage fired into the area.


According to reports by World Israel News and AP, turmoil from the battle between Israel and Hamas spilled over into Judea and Samaria on Friday, sparking the most widespread Palestinian rioting in years as hundreds of young Arabs in multiple towns clashed with Israeli troops.


On the outskirts of Ramallah, Nablus and other towns and cities, Arab rioters waved Palestinian flags and trucked in tires to burn in order to create smoke screens from which they could attack Israelis.


At least 10 violent rioters were killed by IDF soldiers. An 11th Palestinian was killed when he tried to stab a soldier at a military position.


Hamas has fired some 2,000 rockets toward Israel since Monday, according to the Israeli military.


 

Most have been intercepted by anti-missile defenses, but they have brought life to a standstill in southern Israeli cities, caused disruptions at airports and have set off air raid sirens in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.


Palestinian rocket attacks have killed nine Israelis, including a 5-year-old boy.


On Israel’s northern border, a group of Lebanese and Palestinian rioters on the other side cut through the border fence and briefly crossed. One Lebanese was killed. Three rockets were fired toward Israel from neighboring Syria, but they either landed in Syrian territory or in empty areas, Israeli media said. It was not immediately known who fired them.


Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed that Hamas would “pay a very heavy price” for its rocket attacks. Israel called up 9,000 reservists Thursday to join its troops massed at the Gaza border.


On Friday, the U.S. deputy assistant secretary of state for Israel-Palestinian affairs, Hady Amr, arrived in Israel as part of an attempt by Washington to de-escalate the conflict.


U.S. President Joe Biden gave a show of support to Netanyahu in a call a day earlier, saying “there has not been a significant overreaction” in Israel’s response to Hamas rockets. He said the aim is to get a “significant reduction in attacks, particularly rocket attacks.”


On Saturday, an Israeli man a was killed by a Palestinian rocket that hit a residential building in Ramat Gan, a suburb of Tel Aviv.


That strike was the latest attack in an onslaught of Palestinian rockets that began on Tuesday, which as claimed the lives of nine Israelis to date.


The Gaza rocket attacks were accompanied by an outburst of Palestinian violence started in Jerusalem that has spread into mixed Jewish-Arab cities in Israel.


Arabs have launched pogrom-like violent riots, viciously attacking Israelis, torching synagogues, destroying ritual, and damaging property.


 

There were also widespread violent Palestinian riots on Friday in Judea and Samaria.


The spiraling violence has raised fears of a new Palestinian “intifada,” an Arabic term that is used as a euphemism for a wave of premeditated violent terror attacks on Israeli civilians.


The office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Saturday that he spoke with U.S. President Joe Biden.


Netanyahu thanked him for the “unreserved support of the United States for our right to defend ourselves.”


A furious Israeli barrage early Friday destroyed a vast tunnel network used by the Hamas terror group.


Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus, a military spokesman, said the military aims to minimize collateral damage in striking military targets.


Israeli media said the military believed dozens of militants were killed inside the tunnels. The Hamas and Islamic Jihad militant groups have confirmed 20 deaths in their ranks, but the military said the real number is far higher.


Also, an Israeli airstrike on Saturday targeted the home of Khalil al-Hayeh, a top leader of Gaza’s ruling Hamas terror group.

Al-Hayeh’s home served as part of the Islamist group’s “terrorist infrastructure,” said the IDF.

Al-Hayeh is a senior Hamas figure in Gaza, and the attack signaled that Israel will continue to go after Hamas’ top leadership.

His fate after the strike was not immediately known.


More than 2000 Rockets Fired into Israel by Hamas



The fighter jets of Israeli Defense Forces razed on Saturday afternoon a high-rise building in the Gaza Strip hosting the Hamas military intelligence units.

According to reports by 24news and many other sources, the Jala Tower complex in the Gaza Strip is also where the Gaza offices of several international news media outlets are based, including the Associated Press and al-Jazeera.

Reports suggested that the tower’s owner had received a warning from the IDF ahead of the airstrikes, allowing the civilians inside to evacuate.

The Israeli military accused the terrorist groups of using the journalists working in the building as human shields.


“The terrorist organization Hamas deliberately places its military assets in the heart of the civilian population in the Gaza Strip,” the army said.


In a statement issued shortly after the attack, Hamas threatened another major rocket salvo into central Israel in retaliation for the strike.


Red alert sirens went off earlier in the day in the area, with one Israeli killed in the Saturday afternoon barrage fired into the area.


According to reports by World Israel News and AP, turmoil from the battle between Israel and Hamas spilled over into Judea and Samaria on Friday, sparking the most widespread Palestinian rioting in years as hundreds of young Arabs in multiple towns clashed with Israeli troops.


On the outskirts of Ramallah, Nablus and other towns and cities, Arab rioters waved Palestinian flags and trucked in tires to burn in order to create smoke screens from which they could attack Israelis.


At least 10 violent rioters were killed by IDF soldiers. An 11th Palestinian was killed when he tried to stab a soldier at a military position.


Hamas has fired some 2,000 rockets toward Israel since Monday, according to the Israeli military.


 

Most have been intercepted by anti-missile defenses, but they have brought life to a standstill in southern Israeli cities, caused disruptions at airports and have set off air raid sirens in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.


Palestinian rocket attacks have killed nine Israelis, including a 5-year-old boy.


On Israel’s northern border, a group of Lebanese and Palestinian rioters on the other side cut through the border fence and briefly crossed. One Lebanese was killed. Three rockets were fired toward Israel from neighboring Syria, but they either landed in Syrian territory or in empty areas, Israeli media said. It was not immediately known who fired them.


Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed that Hamas would “pay a very heavy price” for its rocket attacks. Israel called up 9,000 reservists Thursday to join its troops massed at the Gaza border.


On Friday, the U.S. deputy assistant secretary of state for Israel-Palestinian affairs, Hady Amr, arrived in Israel as part of an attempt by Washington to de-escalate the conflict.


U.S. President Joe Biden gave a show of support to Netanyahu in a call a day earlier, saying “there has not been a significant overreaction” in Israel’s response to Hamas rockets. He said the aim is to get a “significant reduction in attacks, particularly rocket attacks.”


On Saturday, an Israeli man a was killed by a Palestinian rocket that hit a residential building in Ramat Gan, a suburb of Tel Aviv.


That strike was the latest attack in an onslaught of Palestinian rockets that began on Tuesday, which as claimed the lives of nine Israelis to date.


The Gaza rocket attacks were accompanied by an outburst of Palestinian violence started in Jerusalem that has spread into mixed Jewish-Arab cities in Israel.


Arabs have launched pogrom-like violent riots, viciously attacking Israelis, torching synagogues, destroying ritual, and damaging property.


 

There were also widespread violent Palestinian riots on Friday in Judea and Samaria.


The spiraling violence has raised fears of a new Palestinian “intifada,” an Arabic term that is used as a euphemism for a wave of premeditated violent terror attacks on Israeli civilians.


The office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Saturday that he spoke with U.S. President Joe Biden.


Netanyahu thanked him for the “unreserved support of the United States for our right to defend ourselves.”


A furious Israeli barrage early Friday destroyed a vast tunnel network used by the Hamas terror group.


Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus, a military spokesman, said the military aims to minimize collateral damage in striking military targets.


Israeli media said the military believed dozens of militants were killed inside the tunnels. The Hamas and Islamic Jihad militant groups have confirmed 20 deaths in their ranks, but the military said the real number is far higher.


Also, an Israeli airstrike on Saturday targeted the home of Khalil al-Hayeh, a top leader of Gaza’s ruling Hamas terror group.

Al-Hayeh’s home served as part of the Islamist group’s “terrorist infrastructure,” said the IDF.

Al-Hayeh is a senior Hamas figure in Gaza, and the attack signaled that Israel will continue to go after Hamas’ top leadership.

His fate after the strike was not immediately known.


Tags:

Israeli Defense Forces Strike Targets in Gaza as Hamas fired not less than 3 dozens of Rockets into Israel's territory

Israeli Defense Forces Strike Targets in Gaza as Hamas fired not less than 3 dozens of Rockets into Israel's territory

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By Associated Press



Palestinian terrorists in the Gaza Strip fired some three dozen rockets into Israel overnight Saturday, while the Israeli military struck back at targets operated by the ruling Hamas group. The exchange came as tensions in Jerusalem spilled over into the worst round of cross-border violence in months.


The barrage of rocket fire came as hundreds of Palestinians rioted in Jerusalem, clashing with Israeli police.  At least four police and six protesters were injured.


The riots have become a nightly occurrence throughout the month of Ramadan and show no signs of stopping.

The Israeli military said a total of 36 rockets were fired into Israel throughout the night. It said six rockets were intercepted, while most of the others landed in open areas. There were no reports of injuries or serious damage, but the incoming rocket fire set off air-raid sirens throughout southern Israel.


The military imposed limits on outdoor gatherings in southern Israel early Saturday but lifted the restrictions several hours later and allowed people to resume their normal routines.


Israel and Hamas, an Islamic terror group sworn to Israel’s destruction, are bitter enemies that have fought three wars and numerous skirmishes since Hamas seized control of Gaza in 2007 after a bloody battle with rival Palestinian factions.


Although neither side appears to have an interest in escalating tensions, Hamas may feel obligated to act ahead of upcoming Palestinian parliamentary elections.


At dawn, hundreds of people in Gaza challenged nightly curfews imposed by Hamas to curb the coronavirus outbreak and took to the streets in an act of solidarity with fellow Palestinians in Jerusalem, burning tires.


The Palestinians want Jerusalem, Israel’s capital, to be the capital of their future state.


Palestinians have clashed with Israeli police on a nightly basis since the start of the month of Ramadan nearly two weeks ago.


The clashes intensified Thursday evening when hundreds of Palestinians hurled stones and bottles at police, who fired a water cannon and stun grenades to disperse them.


At the same time, a Jewish group known as Lahava led a march of hundreds of protesters chanting “Arabs get out!” toward the Damascus Gate. The group, led by a disciple of the late rabbi Meir Kahane, is allied with elements of a far-right party elected to Israel’s parliament last month.


The show of force came in response to videos circulated on TikTok showing Palestinians slapping religious Jews at random. After keeping them a few hundred yards (meters) away from Damascus Gate, police used water cannon, stun grenades and mounted police to push Israeli protesters back toward Jewish areas of Jerusalem.


In all, police said 44 people were arrested and 20 officers were injured.

By Associated Press



Palestinian terrorists in the Gaza Strip fired some three dozen rockets into Israel overnight Saturday, while the Israeli military struck back at targets operated by the ruling Hamas group. The exchange came as tensions in Jerusalem spilled over into the worst round of cross-border violence in months.


The barrage of rocket fire came as hundreds of Palestinians rioted in Jerusalem, clashing with Israeli police.  At least four police and six protesters were injured.


The riots have become a nightly occurrence throughout the month of Ramadan and show no signs of stopping.

The Israeli military said a total of 36 rockets were fired into Israel throughout the night. It said six rockets were intercepted, while most of the others landed in open areas. There were no reports of injuries or serious damage, but the incoming rocket fire set off air-raid sirens throughout southern Israel.


The military imposed limits on outdoor gatherings in southern Israel early Saturday but lifted the restrictions several hours later and allowed people to resume their normal routines.


Israel and Hamas, an Islamic terror group sworn to Israel’s destruction, are bitter enemies that have fought three wars and numerous skirmishes since Hamas seized control of Gaza in 2007 after a bloody battle with rival Palestinian factions.


Although neither side appears to have an interest in escalating tensions, Hamas may feel obligated to act ahead of upcoming Palestinian parliamentary elections.


At dawn, hundreds of people in Gaza challenged nightly curfews imposed by Hamas to curb the coronavirus outbreak and took to the streets in an act of solidarity with fellow Palestinians in Jerusalem, burning tires.


The Palestinians want Jerusalem, Israel’s capital, to be the capital of their future state.


Palestinians have clashed with Israeli police on a nightly basis since the start of the month of Ramadan nearly two weeks ago.


The clashes intensified Thursday evening when hundreds of Palestinians hurled stones and bottles at police, who fired a water cannon and stun grenades to disperse them.


At the same time, a Jewish group known as Lahava led a march of hundreds of protesters chanting “Arabs get out!” toward the Damascus Gate. The group, led by a disciple of the late rabbi Meir Kahane, is allied with elements of a far-right party elected to Israel’s parliament last month.


The show of force came in response to videos circulated on TikTok showing Palestinians slapping religious Jews at random. After keeping them a few hundred yards (meters) away from Damascus Gate, police used water cannon, stun grenades and mounted police to push Israeli protesters back toward Jewish areas of Jerusalem.


In all, police said 44 people were arrested and 20 officers were injured.

Tags:

Dahlan in crosshairs of Palestinian ire over Israeli -UAE deal

Dahlan in crosshairs of Palestinian ire over Israeli -UAE deal

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Palestinian dissident Mohammed Dahlan 
(AFP); Branded "a traitor" in street protests, exiled Palestinian dissident Mohammed Dahlan is being marked out as a behind-the-scenes architect of the Israel-UAE deal that has provoked fury back home.

He serves as an adviser to one of the Middle East's most powerful men, Abu Dhabi's crown prince and effective leader of the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, otherwise known as MBZ.

On August 13, US President Donald Trump made an out-of-the-blue announcement of an accord between MBZ and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to normalise ties between their countries.

The next day, angry protesters in the West Bank and Gaza Strip trampled and torched portraits of Trump, Sheikh Mohammed and Netanyahu.

The picture of "traitor" Dahlan, who is no stranger to controversy, has suffered the same fate in the West Bank city of Ramallah.

Now aged 58, Dahlan served as security chief in Gaza but fell out with his comrades in president Mahmud Abbas's Fatah party when it was driven out by Hamas in 2007.

Four years on, he was kicked off Fatah's central committee on charges of "subversion". After security forces raided his home, it was clearly time to pack and leave.

He travelled and has settled in Abu Dhabi.

The rival factions of the Palestinian leadership, Fatah and Hamas, have both condemned the agreement as a "betrayal" of their people's aspirations to an independent state.

And they see Dahlan's hand behind the UAE becoming the first Arab country in a quarter century, since Jordan in 1994, to normalise ties with the Jewish state.

"We're sure he was an accomplice and the sponsor of this normalisation," is the firm view of Adnan al-Dumairi, spokesman of the security services in Ramallah.

A source close to Hamas said they agreed.

- Role in deal 'irrelevant' -

On the other side of the argument, a former head of Israel's Shin Bet domestic intelligence service, Yaakov Peri, said Dahlan had not been the driving force.

He has known Dahlan ever since the time they coordinated on security issues in Gaza and the two men have stayed in contact, on personal terms.

"In Abu Dhabi, he has become very, very close to the ruler as economic adviser, one who knows Israel quite well," Peri told AFP.

But "those who are blaming Dahlan for the agreement with the Emirates are not really saying something which is true," he said, although the exile had met with "many Israelis" on visits to Abu Dhabi prior to the deal.

In the West Bank political capital of Ramallah, where Fatah leader Abbas is based, Dahlan is still regarded as "the enemy", allegedly as part of a failed coup against the president, said Peri.

"Abu Mazen decided he wants to get rid of him, meaning to kill him or not to let him come back to the arena, to the Palestinian arena in the West Bank and Gaza Strip," he said, using Abbas's nom-de-guerre.

If Dahlan is planning to return with the ambition of succeeding 84-year-old Abbas, "the least you can say is that he's not welcome", said Peri.

Over the past decade, many of Dahlan's supporters have followed his example and left the Palestinian territories.

Dimitri Diliani, a senior Fatah member, said that Dahlan still has supporters on the ground, but they do not go public.

"Many politicians show support but they will never say anything in public because they don't want the president to hear or they would be out of a job,"

The Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research (PCPSR), however, has a low assessment of his popularity.

Khalil Shikaki, the think tank's director, estimates Dahlan's support at around 15 percent in his native Gaza and just one percent in the West Bank.

"It's unlikely that he would have any support in either place again. Whether or not he is involved in the (UAE-Israel) deal is irrelevant," he said.

gl-na/mib/hc/kir

Palestinian dissident Mohammed Dahlan 
(AFP); Branded "a traitor" in street protests, exiled Palestinian dissident Mohammed Dahlan is being marked out as a behind-the-scenes architect of the Israel-UAE deal that has provoked fury back home.

He serves as an adviser to one of the Middle East's most powerful men, Abu Dhabi's crown prince and effective leader of the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, otherwise known as MBZ.

On August 13, US President Donald Trump made an out-of-the-blue announcement of an accord between MBZ and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to normalise ties between their countries.

The next day, angry protesters in the West Bank and Gaza Strip trampled and torched portraits of Trump, Sheikh Mohammed and Netanyahu.

The picture of "traitor" Dahlan, who is no stranger to controversy, has suffered the same fate in the West Bank city of Ramallah.

Now aged 58, Dahlan served as security chief in Gaza but fell out with his comrades in president Mahmud Abbas's Fatah party when it was driven out by Hamas in 2007.

Four years on, he was kicked off Fatah's central committee on charges of "subversion". After security forces raided his home, it was clearly time to pack and leave.

He travelled and has settled in Abu Dhabi.

The rival factions of the Palestinian leadership, Fatah and Hamas, have both condemned the agreement as a "betrayal" of their people's aspirations to an independent state.

And they see Dahlan's hand behind the UAE becoming the first Arab country in a quarter century, since Jordan in 1994, to normalise ties with the Jewish state.

"We're sure he was an accomplice and the sponsor of this normalisation," is the firm view of Adnan al-Dumairi, spokesman of the security services in Ramallah.

A source close to Hamas said they agreed.

- Role in deal 'irrelevant' -

On the other side of the argument, a former head of Israel's Shin Bet domestic intelligence service, Yaakov Peri, said Dahlan had not been the driving force.

He has known Dahlan ever since the time they coordinated on security issues in Gaza and the two men have stayed in contact, on personal terms.

"In Abu Dhabi, he has become very, very close to the ruler as economic adviser, one who knows Israel quite well," Peri told AFP.

But "those who are blaming Dahlan for the agreement with the Emirates are not really saying something which is true," he said, although the exile had met with "many Israelis" on visits to Abu Dhabi prior to the deal.

In the West Bank political capital of Ramallah, where Fatah leader Abbas is based, Dahlan is still regarded as "the enemy", allegedly as part of a failed coup against the president, said Peri.

"Abu Mazen decided he wants to get rid of him, meaning to kill him or not to let him come back to the arena, to the Palestinian arena in the West Bank and Gaza Strip," he said, using Abbas's nom-de-guerre.

If Dahlan is planning to return with the ambition of succeeding 84-year-old Abbas, "the least you can say is that he's not welcome", said Peri.

Over the past decade, many of Dahlan's supporters have followed his example and left the Palestinian territories.

Dimitri Diliani, a senior Fatah member, said that Dahlan still has supporters on the ground, but they do not go public.

"Many politicians show support but they will never say anything in public because they don't want the president to hear or they would be out of a job,"

The Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research (PCPSR), however, has a low assessment of his popularity.

Khalil Shikaki, the think tank's director, estimates Dahlan's support at around 15 percent in his native Gaza and just one percent in the West Bank.

"It's unlikely that he would have any support in either place again. Whether or not he is involved in the (UAE-Israel) deal is irrelevant," he said.

gl-na/mib/hc/kir

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Saudi Price for Ties With Israel Is Palestinian State with Jerusalem as its capital, Says Saudi Royal

Saudi Price for Ties With Israel Is Palestinian State with Jerusalem as its capital, Says Saudi Royal

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Saudi Arabia's price for normalising relations with Israel is the creation of a sovereign Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital, a senior member of the Saudi royal family reaffirmed on Friday, Haaretz reported. 

According to the report, Prince Turki al-Faisal said this in an apparent response to U.S. President Donald Trump who said on Wednesday he expected Saudi Arabia to join a deal announced last week by Israel and the United Arab Emirates to normalise diplomatic ties.

Notwithstanding, the former ambassador to Washington and ex-intelligence chief  opined that UAE's decision, noting that Riyadh's close ally had secured a key condition - a halt to Israeli annexation plans.

The UAE is only the third Arab state in more than 70 years to forge full relations with Israel. 

Under the U.S.-brokered deal, Israel shelved plans to annex settlements in the occupied West Bank, which Palestinians seek as part of a future state.

The UAE said Israel's commitment had kept alive the possibility of a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Israel hitherto had no formal ties with Gulf Arab states but shared concerns with the UAE about Iran's regional influence and actions, along with the UAE's role as a regional business hub, led to a limited thaw and discreet contacts in recent years.

The deal raised speculation that other U.S.-backed Gulf Arab countries might follow. But Prince Turki said Saudi Arabia, the biggest Gulf Arab power which has traditionally guided policy towards Israel, expected a higher return from Israel.

"Any Arab state that is considering following the UAE should demand in return a price, and it should be an expensive price," he wrote in the Saudi newspaper Asharq al-Awsat.

"The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has set a price for concluding peace between Israel and the Arabs - it is the creation of a sovereign Palestinian state with Jerusalem as capital, as provided for by the initiative of the late King Abdullah."

That 2002 Arab League plan offered Israel normalised ties in return for Israeli withdrawal from all territories - the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem - captured in the 1967 Middle East war, and a Palestinian state there.

In the first Saudi reaction to the UAE-Israeli deal, Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan said on Wednesday Riyadh remained committed to the Arab peace initiative.

Prince Turki currently holds no government office but remains influential as current chairman of the King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies.
Saudi Arabia's price for normalising relations with Israel is the creation of a sovereign Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital, a senior member of the Saudi royal family reaffirmed on Friday, Haaretz reported. 

According to the report, Prince Turki al-Faisal said this in an apparent response to U.S. President Donald Trump who said on Wednesday he expected Saudi Arabia to join a deal announced last week by Israel and the United Arab Emirates to normalise diplomatic ties.

Notwithstanding, the former ambassador to Washington and ex-intelligence chief  opined that UAE's decision, noting that Riyadh's close ally had secured a key condition - a halt to Israeli annexation plans.

The UAE is only the third Arab state in more than 70 years to forge full relations with Israel. 

Under the U.S.-brokered deal, Israel shelved plans to annex settlements in the occupied West Bank, which Palestinians seek as part of a future state.

The UAE said Israel's commitment had kept alive the possibility of a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Israel hitherto had no formal ties with Gulf Arab states but shared concerns with the UAE about Iran's regional influence and actions, along with the UAE's role as a regional business hub, led to a limited thaw and discreet contacts in recent years.

The deal raised speculation that other U.S.-backed Gulf Arab countries might follow. But Prince Turki said Saudi Arabia, the biggest Gulf Arab power which has traditionally guided policy towards Israel, expected a higher return from Israel.

"Any Arab state that is considering following the UAE should demand in return a price, and it should be an expensive price," he wrote in the Saudi newspaper Asharq al-Awsat.

"The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has set a price for concluding peace between Israel and the Arabs - it is the creation of a sovereign Palestinian state with Jerusalem as capital, as provided for by the initiative of the late King Abdullah."

That 2002 Arab League plan offered Israel normalised ties in return for Israeli withdrawal from all territories - the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem - captured in the 1967 Middle East war, and a Palestinian state there.

In the first Saudi reaction to the UAE-Israeli deal, Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan said on Wednesday Riyadh remained committed to the Arab peace initiative.

Prince Turki currently holds no government office but remains influential as current chairman of the King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies.
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Iran warns UAE that they bear any consequences related to Israel in Gulf region

Iran warns UAE that they bear any consequences related to Israel in Gulf region

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The Assistant Speaker of the Iranian Parliament, Hossein Amir Abdollahian, accused the United Arab Emirates of crossing red lines for regional collective security by allowing Israel to have a foothold in the Gulf region.

The Iranian official warned the UAE that it would bear the consequences of any incident related to Israel in the Gulf.

“Any incident that takes place today in the Gulf region, in which Israel is implicated in secret or open, bears its inevitable and dangerous consequences,” he said, pointing out that the UAE and Israel would be punished.

Last week, the UAE and Israel announced an agreement to normalize relations between the two countries under American auspices.

Iran denounced the agreement and its President, Hassan Rouhani, described it as a “grave mistake” by the Gulf state. 


Source: AMN
The Assistant Speaker of the Iranian Parliament, Hossein Amir Abdollahian, accused the United Arab Emirates of crossing red lines for regional collective security by allowing Israel to have a foothold in the Gulf region.

The Iranian official warned the UAE that it would bear the consequences of any incident related to Israel in the Gulf.

“Any incident that takes place today in the Gulf region, in which Israel is implicated in secret or open, bears its inevitable and dangerous consequences,” he said, pointing out that the UAE and Israel would be punished.

Last week, the UAE and Israel announced an agreement to normalize relations between the two countries under American auspices.

Iran denounced the agreement and its President, Hassan Rouhani, described it as a “grave mistake” by the Gulf state. 


Source: AMN
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Israeli warplanes strikes cause massive explosions in Gaza

Israeli warplanes strikes cause massive explosions in Gaza

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Israeli warplanes launched heavy strikes over the Gaza Strip early Thursday for the 10th straight days, hitting a number of sites across the region.

According to Palestinian activists, the airstrikes caused massive explosions that could be felt throughout Gaza.

 

Meanwhile, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) said in a tweet this evening: “Explosive balloons were launched from #Gaza into #Israel throughout the day.”

They added: “In response, our fighter jets just struck infrastructure belonging to Hamas in Gaza used to construct tunnels.”


Tonight’s airstrikes by the Israeli Defense Forces mark the tenth day in a row that they have targeted the Gaza Strip.

The strikes were primarily concentrated on the Khan Younis area, which is located in the southern part of the Gaza Strip.



 

Israeli warplanes launched heavy strikes over the Gaza Strip early Thursday for the 10th straight days, hitting a number of sites across the region.

According to Palestinian activists, the airstrikes caused massive explosions that could be felt throughout Gaza.

 

Meanwhile, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) said in a tweet this evening: “Explosive balloons were launched from #Gaza into #Israel throughout the day.”

They added: “In response, our fighter jets just struck infrastructure belonging to Hamas in Gaza used to construct tunnels.”


Tonight’s airstrikes by the Israeli Defense Forces mark the tenth day in a row that they have targeted the Gaza Strip.

The strikes were primarily concentrated on the Khan Younis area, which is located in the southern part of the Gaza Strip.



 

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Palestine Drops Out of Dubai World Fair After UAE-Israeli Pact

Palestine Drops Out of Dubai World Fair After UAE-Israeli Pact

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The Palestinian authority said Monday it would pull out of Expo 2020 Dubai, the Middle East's first world fair, after the United Arab Emirates reached a deal with Israel.

"The Palestinian Authority has canceled its plans to participate in Expo in Dubai in October 2021", the government said in a statement.

The show was due to take place in the UAE's most populous city in October but was delayed until April of next year due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Palestine said this was in protest against the US-sponsored UAE-Israeli agreement to establish full diplomatic ties and exchange embassies, the third such deal between Israel and an Arab country after pacts with Egypt in 1979 and Jordan in 1994.

On 13 August, UAE and Israel reached a peace deal, under which Abu Dhabi is expected to begin the process of recognizing and normalizing relations with Tel Aviv. The deal, negotiated with the support of the US, is expected to be signed at the White House within the next three weeks.


Source: Sputnik 
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The Palestinian authority said Monday it would pull out of Expo 2020 Dubai, the Middle East's first world fair, after the United Arab Emirates reached a deal with Israel.

"The Palestinian Authority has canceled its plans to participate in Expo in Dubai in October 2021", the government said in a statement.

The show was due to take place in the UAE's most populous city in October but was delayed until April of next year due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Palestine said this was in protest against the US-sponsored UAE-Israeli agreement to establish full diplomatic ties and exchange embassies, the third such deal between Israel and an Arab country after pacts with Egypt in 1979 and Jordan in 1994.

On 13 August, UAE and Israel reached a peace deal, under which Abu Dhabi is expected to begin the process of recognizing and normalizing relations with Tel Aviv. The deal, negotiated with the support of the US, is expected to be signed at the White House within the next three weeks.


Source: Sputnik 
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IDF says airstrikes hit Hamas targets in Gaza after fresh arson

IDF says airstrikes hit Hamas targets in Gaza after fresh arson

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TOI Photo: Damage caused by an incendiary ballon that landed 
outside of a kindergarten in Sderot, August 17, 2020.
(Israel Fire Department)
Israel Defense Forces has said its war planes and aircraft carried out strikes on Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip after midnight Monday in response to continued arson balloon attacks on Israel, TOI reported.

According to the report, the IDF said it hit “underground infrastructure of the Hamas terror group,” but gave no further details on the targets.

The Israeli Army confirmed that it hit terror group’s underground infrastructure; move comes after Egyptian mediators leave Strip after bid to reduce tensions.


"Recently, IDF fighter jets and aircraft attacked underground infrastructure of the Hamas terrorist organization in the Gaza Strip. The attack was carried out in response to the explosion of explosive balloons and arson from the Gaza Strip into Israeli territory during the day."
  The Hamas-linked al-Resalah news reported Israeli shelling in the northern Gaza Strip and airstrikes in southern Gaza close to Rafah city around the disused Yasser Arafat International Airport.

There were no immediate reports of casualties.

The army said the strikes were in retaliation for a series of arson balloon attacks on Monday, including one suspected of having started a small fire Monday afternoon outside a kindergarten in the southern town of Sderot.

Firefighters were called to the scene and quickly put out the blaze in a plastic closet outside the school.

The blaze was one of 20 fires that erupted in areas surrounding the Gaza Strip on Monday, suspected to have been started by the arson balloons.

Separately, police said a “suspicious item” affixed to a balloon was being neutralized in the southern town of Netivot, after apparently being flown across the border from Gaza.

The continued violence comes despite the efforts of Egyptian mediators who were in the Gaza Strip on Monday in an effort to reduce tensions and prevent a new cross-border conflict between Israel and Hamas.

They departed earlier Monday without appearing to have secured a resolution.

Mediators typically announce any agreements before leaving the territory. But after a day of meetings with officials from Hamas, the three Egyptian general intelligence envoys left for Israel, according to Adel Abdelrahman, a Gaza-based advisor to the Egyptian mediators. They made no declaration before departing.

The urgent visit came as hostilities broke out along the Gaza-Israel frontier after months of calm due in part to leaders from both sides being occupied by the coronavirus crisis.

For the past week, Palestinian youth groups affiliated with Hamas, the terror group that seized control of Gaza from rival Palestinian forces in 2007, have fired incendiary balloons toward Israel, setting swaths of farmland on fire. Israel, which holds Hamas responsible for violence emanating from the territory, responded with airstrikes on Hamas military sites, banned Gaza’s fishermen from taking to the sea and shut the main commercial crossing into the territory.

On Tuesday, the lone power plant in Gaza is scheduled to shut down because the closure of Kerem Shalom crossing has cut fuel supplies, exacerbating the power crisis and leaving Gaza’s 2 million residents with about four hours of electricity a day.

Hamas says Israel did not honor previous understandings reached with the help of Egypt and Qatar, in which Israel should ease the blockade it has imposed on Gaza since Hamas’ takeover and allow for large-scale projects to help rescue the collapsing economy.

TOI Photo: Damage caused by an incendiary ballon that landed 
outside of a kindergarten in Sderot, August 17, 2020.
(Israel Fire Department)
Israel Defense Forces has said its war planes and aircraft carried out strikes on Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip after midnight Monday in response to continued arson balloon attacks on Israel, TOI reported.

According to the report, the IDF said it hit “underground infrastructure of the Hamas terror group,” but gave no further details on the targets.

The Israeli Army confirmed that it hit terror group’s underground infrastructure; move comes after Egyptian mediators leave Strip after bid to reduce tensions.


"Recently, IDF fighter jets and aircraft attacked underground infrastructure of the Hamas terrorist organization in the Gaza Strip. The attack was carried out in response to the explosion of explosive balloons and arson from the Gaza Strip into Israeli territory during the day."
  The Hamas-linked al-Resalah news reported Israeli shelling in the northern Gaza Strip and airstrikes in southern Gaza close to Rafah city around the disused Yasser Arafat International Airport.

There were no immediate reports of casualties.

The army said the strikes were in retaliation for a series of arson balloon attacks on Monday, including one suspected of having started a small fire Monday afternoon outside a kindergarten in the southern town of Sderot.

Firefighters were called to the scene and quickly put out the blaze in a plastic closet outside the school.

The blaze was one of 20 fires that erupted in areas surrounding the Gaza Strip on Monday, suspected to have been started by the arson balloons.

Separately, police said a “suspicious item” affixed to a balloon was being neutralized in the southern town of Netivot, after apparently being flown across the border from Gaza.

The continued violence comes despite the efforts of Egyptian mediators who were in the Gaza Strip on Monday in an effort to reduce tensions and prevent a new cross-border conflict between Israel and Hamas.

They departed earlier Monday without appearing to have secured a resolution.

Mediators typically announce any agreements before leaving the territory. But after a day of meetings with officials from Hamas, the three Egyptian general intelligence envoys left for Israel, according to Adel Abdelrahman, a Gaza-based advisor to the Egyptian mediators. They made no declaration before departing.

The urgent visit came as hostilities broke out along the Gaza-Israel frontier after months of calm due in part to leaders from both sides being occupied by the coronavirus crisis.

For the past week, Palestinian youth groups affiliated with Hamas, the terror group that seized control of Gaza from rival Palestinian forces in 2007, have fired incendiary balloons toward Israel, setting swaths of farmland on fire. Israel, which holds Hamas responsible for violence emanating from the territory, responded with airstrikes on Hamas military sites, banned Gaza’s fishermen from taking to the sea and shut the main commercial crossing into the territory.

On Tuesday, the lone power plant in Gaza is scheduled to shut down because the closure of Kerem Shalom crossing has cut fuel supplies, exacerbating the power crisis and leaving Gaza’s 2 million residents with about four hours of electricity a day.

Hamas says Israel did not honor previous understandings reached with the help of Egypt and Qatar, in which Israel should ease the blockade it has imposed on Gaza since Hamas’ takeover and allow for large-scale projects to help rescue the collapsing economy.

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